The Mind
I've known a Heaven like a tent
From Further Poems of Emily Dickinson (1929)
The Mind
I've known a Heaven like a tent
To wrap its shining yards,
Pluck up its stakes and disappear
Without the sound of boards
Or rip of nail, or carpenter,
But just the miles of stare
That signalize a show's retreat
In North America.
No trace, no figment of the thing
That dazzled yesterday,
No ring, no marvel;
Men and feats
Dissolved as utterly
As birds' far navigation
Discloses just a hue;
A plash of oars—a gayety,
Then swallowed up to view.
Cite this poem
MLA
Dickinson, Emily. “I've known a Heaven like a tent.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/dickinson/501/.
Chicago
Dickinson, Emily. “I've known a Heaven like a tent.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/dickinson/501/.
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